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墨書 Inktalez
"The factory is definitely involved in some shady activities; at least half of those people are not real workers," I said as I sat down with everyone. "They do not look like workers at all. We need to investigate what they are up to in private, especially that manager who has connections."
This task was handed over to Captain Gao, and the members of the Special Investigation Team sat down to discuss the clues and possible directions for the case. So far, the Killer had already disposed of three bodies, and following the leads, we had basically identified the prime suspect: the owner of the chemical factory, Wang Kang.
Wang Kang's basic information had been thoroughly investigated. He stood at one hundred seventy-eight centimeters tall and weighed around one hundred seventy pounds, matching the description of the man in the video. Moreover, Wang Kang had access to lethal Potassium Cyanide. As a factory owner, he could easily afford a suit worth ten thousand and shoes worth five thousand. Strangely enough, Wang Kang had left the chemical factory a week ago and had since been unreachable. His several properties in the city had been checked, but they had not been occupied for quite some time.
This meant that Wang Kang had disappeared from Beiyu City before the first body was even found.
I tapped my temple with my fingers as I spoke. "Finding Wang Kang across the entire city won't be easy. Although Beiyu City is just a third-tier city, it has a large population and vast land area. If he hides in the forest, we might never find him."
"This case is indeed tricky; his wife and daughter are also missing," Yan Junde added.
"But one thing is certain: he won't leave Beiyu City until all six bodies have been disposed of." For some reason, I recalled the V Mask. If this mask was merely a casual creation by the Killer, then often the most unconscious actions are indeed subconscious acts—something even the most skilled criminals cannot change!
The interrogation continued from afternoon into evening due to the number of people involved. The Special Investigation Team stood outside the One-Way Glass to observe. This was the first time I saw Captain Gao so serious and focused. The individuals being questioned seemed like seasoned veterans; they spoke hesitantly, trying to create an air of mystery. Captain Gao urged them to tell the truth, but they remained unmoved. After enduring their pain during questioning, these workers finally began to speak.
It turned out that Wang Kang was publicly known as the factory Boss but secretly operated as a loan shark; these so-called workers were actually his henchmen. They revealed that Wang Kang had severely injured many people in front of them. As for murder, they claimed they had never seen him do it personally, but they all said he had several lives on his hands.
The person in charge of the factory said, "For minor disputes, Wang Kang would involve us—like blocking someone or throwing paint on them—at most he would just beat someone up. According to him, he wouldn't involve us in any killings because we are all from the same hometown."
"Can I smoke?" asked the person in charge. "I don't know if what comes next is true; I've never witnessed it myself. This is all just what Wang Kang told me."
Captain Gao took out a cigarette to offer him; I noticed there was a small crying face drawn on the filter—it must have been drawn by Captain Gao's daughter. He didn't notice and handed it directly to the person in charge. This is how it is being a police officer; days have passed since this started, and Captain Gao has barely been home—each time he returns for only a short while before another call pulls him back to work.
As I sighed at this thought, the person in charge lit up the cigarette and said to us, "Wang Kang and I come from the same village; we were familiar with each other since childhood. There are some things he didn't tell others but shared with me many times—I feel like there's something on his mind." He took a puff from his cigarette and blew out two smoke rings before continuing, "He mentioned knowing a few people who commit Murder and Arson. Those who have overdue debts and can't repay them—first they lose an arm, then another arm; next come their legs—they become something called... what was that word again? I can't recall it right now."
I replied, "A human pig."
"Yes, yes!" The person in charge nodded vigorously. "That's it! Then he sends people to collect debts; once someone becomes like that—even if they have family—they definitely won't repay anything. In the end, he cuts off their heads; altogether he chops them into six pieces."
"Do you know how many of these people Wang Kang mentioned?" I pressed further.
The person in charge furrowed his brow, pondering for a moment before hesitantly speaking up, "Wang Kang has mentioned this to me a few times. He didn't specify how many people or who they were, but from what he said, it seems there are about four or five. That's my impression."
Upon hearing this, I felt that the case was nearing its conclusion. Cutting someone into six parts was exactly like this case, wasn't it? The only difference was that someone had stitched those six parts back together into a single corpse this time. So who could these six people be?
Noticing that both Captain Gao and I had fallen silent, the person in charge grew anxious and said, "I've never shared this with anyone before. I'm a man of loyalty, and I don't know if what he said was just drunken bragging or if there's truth to it. I've never killed anyone."
"You mentioned that Wang Kang has connections in the police department. Who exactly is that person?" I asked.
"I truly don't know. I swear he never told me. He said some things shouldn't be spoken of even when drunk," the person in charge seemed desperate to show his sincerity.
Captain Gao nodded. As we stepped out of the interrogation room, members of the Special Investigation Team were waiting outside. I tapped my temple with a finger and said, "It seems we can explain why no one has come to claim the bodies; these people have long since become invisible. The victim might also be linked to other killers. Mary, check through DNA for any fugitives."
Just half an hour later, Mary provided an answer: "Indeed, I compared the DNA of the six individuals with known criminals and found that three of the deceased had criminal records. The others are unclear; we should have compared them earlier."
Juan Juan remarked, "We overlooked this; no one expected the victims would turn out to be these people."
"While we have confirmed the identities of the victims, there are still several unresolved questions," I reflected on my thoughts before continuing, "First, why did the killer do this? If the killer is Wang Kang, why would he kill his own subordinates? Second, after committing murder, why would the killer dismember and then reassemble the body in such an unexpected manner? What purpose does that serve? Third, was that V Mask deliberately left by the killer or just an unconscious doodle? Does it represent a psychological state of the killer?"
These three questions remained unanswered so far. The more twisted and unusual a case is, the more one must think from the killer's perspective because their thought process is often so erratic that ordinary reasoning cannot predict their next move. If I were the killer, I would relish in the thrill of dismemberment and reassembly as if performing mundane household chores. I would enjoy seeing people's panic and fear upon discovering the body. Perhaps I would even take pleasure in witnessing how these criminals met their end at my hands.
I felt as though I was beginning to understand something—a fleeting sensation that was elusive and hard to grasp.
"Is it possible," Captain Gao broke our silence and suggested, "that due to disputes over dividing spoils, there was a conflict among them? Or perhaps one of Wang Kang's subordinates wanted to take over but was discovered by Wang Kang?"
"So Wang Kang used an excuse to call all six to a secret location under the pretense of a job offer and poisoned them before they arrived," Captain Gao speculated further. "As for disposing of the bodies, could it stem from arrogance or loneliness—a subconscious desire for attention?"
Juan Juan nodded at this insight and added, "Typically such individuals wear two faces: outwardly suppressed while inwardly tumultuous. The fact that the person in charge said Wang Kang only confided in him about the murders indicates he desperately needs someone to listen."
"And we are the best listeners!" I interjected.
"Indeed, this also explains why the six victims died around the same time, within less than an hour," Juan Juan added.
"In that case, Wang Kang must be the Killer," Yan Junde said. "It's just that this guy is incredibly cunning. I think Brother Shao is right; he’s probably hiding in some forest."
I chuckled lightly and said, "It's dark again. What do you think the Killer is doing right now?"
The others exchanged glances before they collectively voiced, "He should be disposing of the fourth body."
I nodded and replied, "Exactly. We are currently too passive. Based on the disposal times of the first three bodies, tonight marks the disposal of the fourth."
"This means we only have two days left. If we can't catch the Killer before all six bodies are disposed of..." I looked into the pitch-black night.
I didn't finish my sentence, but everyone understood what I meant. The Killer had only killed six people and showed no signs of continuing his spree, which meant that if all six bodies were disposed of, he might just vanish. At that point, without any connections, catching the Killer would be a thousand times more difficult than it is now.
Everyone fell silent, staring out at the night. Captain Gao said, "Sometimes, the darkness lasts far too long, doesn't it?"
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